Chapter 8

Chapter

Eight

Z ev strode between the trees, his mind on the supper waiting for him inside the house. Even his orchard, usually a reliable haven, had no comfort to offer him. Not in light of the air of anxiety that had settled over the household since he told his family what he'd discovered about the survey. His father had ridden to Zev's uncle's farm to discuss the development, and Zev knew the whole family was on high alert. Opinion seemed to be split as to whether it was a good thing that the land turned back the questing enchantment, or whether it put them in greater danger. If the council had ordered the surveying team to start in their region specifically because of Zev's earlier encounter with the council member, then surely the anomaly of their property being missed from the survey would be noticed.

If his connection with Marieke caused them to be exposed after all these generations of successfully hiding in plain sight, what would he do?

What could he do? It wasn't as though he could change the past. It wasn't even as though he wanted to.

He cleared the copse of uncultivated trees that stood between the orchard and the house, rounding the corner of the building with heavy steps. As he lifted his eyes to scan the darkening farmyard, a jolt went through him. Another survey parchment? And this one had managed to get past the land's defenses!

But another look showed that the paper wafting through the air was much smaller than the last one had been, and it wasn't dancing about like a kite on a string. It was moving steadily toward the house, and as he watched, it coasted to a stop outside the front door.

Zev picked up his pace. He was just starting up the porch steps when the front door opened and his mother appeared.

"Zev," she said, stopping at the sight of him. "I was just getting a pitcher from the parlor, and I thought I saw—"

"This." Zev cut her off, leaning down to pick up the parchment. "I saw it, too, from across the yard."

"Is that what the last one looked like?"

Zev shook his head. "No." He turned the small, white envelope over in his hand. "No, this is something different. I think it's a…"

He trailed off, his eyebrows rising as he caught sight of what was written on the other side of the envelope.

"A what?" his mother asked, her voice sharp. "Is it recording information somehow?"

"A letter," Zev finished belatedly. "I don't think it's enchanted like the last one. It looks like an ordinary letter…and it's addressed to me."

"Addressed to you?" He could hear the alarm in his mother's words. "Ordinary letters don't fly through the air, Zev."

Zev didn't respond, his thumb moving across the letters written in a slanting, feminine hand. It was his name all right, and the location of their farm, as clear as day. There was only one way to find out what it was about.

He pulled out his knife and flicked it open, slitting the envelope roughly. There was one folded sheet inside, in the same neat writing. His eyes jumped at once to the bottom, his heart doing a strange lurch when he saw how the note was signed. He would have preferred to read it without his mother present, but there was no way she was going to give him that option. Trying to keep his face impassive, he read through the note from the start.

Zev

I'm back in Aeltas. I thought about coming to see you, but I didn't know if you'd want that. I won't explain in a letter all the reasons I came. I was going to write something about thinking you might want to know my plans, but that's not the truth. The truth is that I want you to know. I don't want to come so close to where you are without you even knowing that I'm here, or where I'm going.

And where I'm going is into Sundering Canyon, or at least that's my plan. I'm hoping to find roughly the same area where you pulled me from the cliff face.

I expect to be there on Thursday. I won't try to enter the canyon until noon. Just in case.

- Marieke

Zev stared at the letter, his heart thumping so forcefully he felt sure his mother must hear it. Marieke was in Aeltas? And she'd written to him.

"What is it, Zev?" his mother asked. "How did it find you?"

Zev blinked at her, struggling to comprehend her question. The contents of the letter had driven out all thought of its method of arrival. What was Marieke thinking, going into Sundering Canyon? She'd barely escaped from the monarchists with her life last time. Why would she take that risk?

And she was going to wait at the canyon's edge for a while…just in case.

Just in case.

Zev's mind whirled. She hadn't explained those words, but she didn't need to. He understood. She wasn't asking him to come with her—she wasn't going to pressure him after he'd told her so clearly that her self-appointed mission wasn't his fight.

But underneath everything said between them, and everything not said, the simple truth was that she was asking him to come with her. Reading her words, he could almost see her hopeful face as it had looked when she'd suggested they unravel Oleand's tangled problems together.

And what would his answer be? Would he turn away again, and leave her to whatever fate befell her?

"Zev?" His mother's voice reminded him of the fact that he wasn't alone.

"It's a letter," he said gruffly, folding it so that the words were hidden again. "For me. Like I said."

He could see the impatience on his mother's face, but she stopped herself from dragging the information out of him, instead ushering him toward the doorway she was occupying.

"Come inside, Zev. Unless…" She paused as she looked at the folded letter in his hand. "Do you think it's safe to bring that thing with you?"

"Of course it is." Zev stepped over the threshold, unenthusiastic about sharing the letter with his whole family, but unable to imagine a scenario where he could get away with anything less. "It's a letter, Mother. Just a letter."

She didn't reply, but he could sense her skepticism without the need for words. He strode ahead of her, all thought of washing up for supper forgotten as he made his way to the kitchen, where the family ate on all but formal occasions. His brother was already at the scrubbed wooden table, and his father appeared moments after Zev and his mother entered the room.

"Did I hear Zev come in? Is supper…" The question petered out as he looked from his eldest son to his wife. "Is everything all right, Narelle? What's going on?"

"A letter came by magical wind," Zev's mother said matter-of-factly. "It's for Zev, from Marieke."

"Mother." Zev ignored the splutter from his brother, who seemed to be choking on his sip of ale. Had his mother peered over his shoulder without him realizing? "You shouldn't be reading a letter addressed to me."

"I didn't read the letter," she informed him. "I didn't need to. I just read you, Zev."

Zev shut his mouth.

"Is it true?" Azai demanded. "You got a letter from that Oleandan singer?"

"Yes." Zev was unimpressed. "You know, pretending that you don't remember her name just makes you look foolish."

"I remember her name," Azai said tartly. "I just choose not to use it."

"Well, that makes you look foolish, too," Zev informed him, lowering himself into a chair across from the younger man.

"Enough with the bickering." Their father was understandably impatient. "Zev, this letter. It was truly carried here by magic, like the last one?"

"I don't know how else it could have gotten here," Zev told him. "I saw it fly to the front door myself. But it's not like the other one. It's not a survey parchment, and it wasn't taking in information. "

"How did it get through the land's defense?" Azai demanded.

Zev shrugged. "Weren't you listening to what I just said? This is an ordinary letter. It's not a tool to spy on us, and it's not trying to read or record information. I think the magic was only involved in actually getting it here."

"Oh, how reassuring," Azai said sarcastically.

"Actually, it is," Zev said, his own voice calm. "If the land chose to let it in, doesn't that tell you something?"

Azai looked like he had another mocking reply ready, but their father cut in before the brotherly spat could escalate.

"What does the letter say, Zev?"

Zev tried not to show his tension as he tightened his grip on the folded paper. "It says that Marieke is back in Aeltas. She's planning to go into Sundering Canyon, looking for the monarchists."

His parents exchanged swift looks. "Looking for the monarchists? Why would she do that?"

"She didn't explain her reasons," Zev said.

"Then why write to you at all?" Azai demanded.

"I suppose she thought I'd want to know what was happening," Zev said. "And she was right."

Azai made a scoffing noise, but their father quashed it with a frown. "Don't let your prejudices blind you to the main point, Azai. Zev is showing good sense. The more informed we are, the better. If Marieke's group is searching for an explanation for our land's prosperity, we want to know all developments in that search." His voice turned grim. "I can't say I like the idea of her group searching out the monarchists."

"There's no group," Zev corrected him. "I don't think she's here with a delegation. I think it's just her."

There was a moment of silence as everyone took in this information. Three pairs of eyes came to rest on Zev, each with varying degrees of suspicion.

"What questions is she asking that she thinks the answers will be found with the monarchists in Sundering Canyon?" His mother's question was slow and thoughtful, and she searched his face as she asked it.

"Zevadiah?" His father's voice held a sternness he hadn't heard since his youth. "What questions is she asking? What exactly did you tell her?"

Zev sighed at the suspicion in the older man's eyes. "I didn't tell her anything. I encouraged her to ask the right questions, and challenged her version of the coup. But I left her to figure out what she thinks." Seeing that his father wasn't satisfied, he added, "She has no reason to connect any of it to us, even if she does accept that she's been lied to about what happened back then."

"No reason other than the fact that you're the one who prompted her to investigate," Azai said.

Zev didn't reply. He wanted to ignore Azai's caustic words, as he usually did, but honesty compelled him to acknowledge that his brother had a point.

"Well…" Their father gave a slow nod. "I suppose there's nothing to fear in her going into the canyon."

"What do you mean?" The words burst from Zev before he thought them through. "There's everything to fear. Last time she barely survived. Those fools down there answer to no one, and they're even more prejudiced against singers than you all are. Who knows what they'll do to her!"

His father's eyebrows were halfway to his hairline by the end of Zev's speech. There was a painful moment of silence before the older man spoke.

"I meant there's no reason to fear exposure. The so-called monarchists know nothing of us. But thank you for making your position clear, Zevadiah. It's good to know that you think us unreasonably prejudiced against singers."

Zev sighed. When his father used his full name twice in one conversation, he knew he was in trouble.

"I didn't call anyone unreasonable."

Azai made a noise in the back of his throat. "So you remain in full agreement with our position on singers, do you?"

Zev ignored the hint of sarcasm in his brother's voice. "You know where my loyalties lie." He kept his eyes on his father. "I will never soften toward the singers who murdered our ancestors. But they earned our contempt. And the Council of Singers earns it by perpetuating lies. But ordinary singers like Marieke are different. Shouldn't they have the chance to show themselves trustworthy before we assume their intentions are evil?"

"No." His father shrugged. "Or maybe they should , but they can't. They all go through the academy, Zev, and you know the academy and the council are basically one and the same. There's no real hope of singers forming their own ideas about our country or our past. They're indoctrinated from their youth, surely you understand that."

"Yes." Zev's voice was heavy. "I can acknowledge that it's difficult to be objective about the things you've been taught from childhood."

As he was discovering for himself. He didn't voice that last part aloud, and none of his family seemed to pick up on his double meaning. It didn't sit comfortably to not be aligned with his parents and brother, but he simply couldn't return to the certainty he'd felt before he met Marieke.

"I think I should go with her," he blurted out. "Into Sundering Canyon."

"Why would you do that?" his mother demanded, her brow furrowed. "I know you have a soft spot for this girl, Zev, and truth be told I thought her likable enough. I'm not as convinced as your father that she and others like her are a lost cause. But putting yourself in harm's way seems a step too far."

"Harm's way?" Zev couldn't help the disdainful note in his voice. "I'm not afraid of Sundering Canyon. Or the monarchists. It's true that I don't want to see Marieke hurt, but I'm also thinking of our family." He took a breath, not relishing the need to share this information, then pushed on. "I know the group in the canyon know nothing about our family, but I have some reason to think they might know about heartsong."

"What?" His father was on his feet, and Azai's mouth had fallen open. "Why do you think that?"

"You remember I mentioned that a man attacked Marieke in the Oleandan capital? He came from the group in the canyon, and he said something about heartsong."

"So you're saying Marieke knows what it is?" His father's face was forbidding, not an expression Zev was used to seeing there.

"Of course not," Zev said. "But she's smart, Father. She asks the right questions. I don't think it's true that there's no risk of exposure. If I'm there, maybe I can limit that risk."

"If you can be trusted with the job," Azai said doubtfully.

Zev scowled at him. "What is it that's made you all think I've forgotten everything I've ever believed?"

"We don't think that, Zev," said his mother soothingly.

"I hope not," Zev retorted. "Do you think I don't understand what's at stake? Do you think I want to put all the family at risk?" He waved a hand in the direction of the closest cousins' farm.

"I still don't like it," his father said, frowning.

"Respectfully, Father, you don't have to like it." Zev didn't care that his words were blunt. "I think I should go, and that's what I'm going to do."

He didn't stay to see his father's reaction. He strode quickly from the room, eager for some air and space to think. He was almost at the front door when his mother caught up with him.

"Zev."

"What?" he snapped, still feeling mutinous toward the whole lot of them.

"Well, don't eat me." Her lips twitched a little, and Zev couldn't help softening.

"I know you mean well," he started, "but—"

"We all do," she cut him off. "Every person in this house. And you don't do your credibility any favors by pretending that Marieke hasn't affected your attitude. Dare I say it…" she searched his face, "even your loyalties."

Zev's tension returned. She was touching on the deepest source of his inner conflict, and he didn't know how to respond.

"I'm not criticizing you," his mother said. "I'm not even going to urge you not to go after her. But I worry about you, Zev. I know you care about the family's safety, and you clearly care about hers a great deal. It's too much pressure. What will you do if you can't keep both safe? What will you do if keeping one safe is exactly what endangers the other?"

Zev's eyes were troubled as they met hers. He didn't try to hide it.

"Honestly…I don't know," he admitted, his voice quiet. "What would you do if Azai and my best interests were in conflict?"

"That's not the same," his mother argued. "I'm your mother. It's a different type of relationship altogether."

He raised an eyebrow. "That's not an answer."

To her credit, his mother thought for a long moment rather than giving a snap answer. "I wouldn't have to make a choice between you," she said at last. "Because you would both fight for each other just as tenaciously as I could fight for you." Her eyes were earnest. "I know Azai isn't happy with you right now, but he would, you know. Just like you would for him."

"I do know," Zev said, with the ghost of a sigh.

"But would Marieke fight for the family you hold dear?" Her voice held a definite challenge, but Zev didn't let it abash him. Instead he turned it back on her.

"Would my family fight for her?"

His mother, bless her, was no easier to rattle than he was.

"There's no telling what I might do for you if you asked me," she told him calmly.

Zev couldn't help smiling. "Well, what I'm asking you to do now is to trust me when I say I need to go with her."

"I trust you, Zev," she said. "I always have, and I always will. Just make sure, when the newness of what you're feeling is intoxicating, that you don't lose yourself. Any part of yourself."

"I know I'm part of something bigger than just me," Zev assured her.

She shook her head. "That's not what I meant. This legacy you carry is for others than yourself, but it's also part of you. You wouldn't be the same if you lost it. You wouldn't be complete."

Zev didn't respond, and after a moment, his mother gave a satisfied nod.

"Enough deep talk. Walk it off if you must, but don't take too long. Supper is still waiting, you know."

The same good sense followed Zev when he set out, in the form of a hearty supply of food in his rucksack. He rode his favorite mare out of the gate just after dawn two mornings after receiving Marieke's letter. He should comfortably reach the canyon before noon .

He made good progress, a tangle of nerves and excitement building in him as he neared the place where he'd first met Marieke. He knew the spot—he'd been past there more than once since, his eyes always drawn to the grassy area where he and Azai had pulled over their cart. He was eager to see her again, even though he had no idea what he would say to her, or her to him. When they'd parted, he'd wanted desperately to believe it wasn't for the last time. Yet, drawn to her though he was, he'd made no effort to ensure it. She'd been the one to reach out to him.

He still had a few hours before noon when he guided his horse to a stop on the same patch of grass. He felt a spike of anxiety as he scanned the area, hopping down from his horse to check the cliff's edge for some distance in either direction. There was no sign of Marieke. Surely he hadn't missed her. She'd said she would wait until noon. She wouldn't have gone to the effort of writing to him to tell him that if she wasn't going to honor it. Perhaps she was still on her way.

After an hour, however, Zev was feeling very uneasy. Had she been held up in her travels to the spot? Had she even been able to find the spot? The more he thought about it, the more he realized how unlikely it was that she would actually locate the exact place where he'd pulled her from the cliff. She didn't know the area like he did. There was every chance that she was waiting somewhere else, thinking he wasn't coming.

But which direction to try? It was no more than an hour until noon—probably less—by the time he decided to leave the patch of grass and search along the canyon. Hoping for the best, he chose west, moving toward the capital rather than away from it.

He traveled slowly, keeping to the road, but examining the nearby cliff edge with great care. After half an hour of travel, he had the sinking feeling that he'd chosen the wrong way. But it was too late to turn back now—he wouldn't make it past his starting point by noon.

The sun had only just passed its zenith when he caught sight of something up ahead that made his heart leap. A rope, one end tied to a stake in the ground, and the other end disappearing over the edge of the canyon.